This invention pertains to a technique and certain elements which have been developed to effect a technique of producing a denture rapidly in final form from start to completion. Many attempts have been made to do this previously, certain of which comprise the subject matter of prior U.S. Pat. Nos.:
3,644,996--Weinkle; Feb. 29, 1972 PA0 4,161,065--Gigante (1); July 17, 1979 PA0 4,247,287--Gigante (2); Jan. 27, 1981 PA0 4,457,713--Schneider; July 3, 1984 PA0 4,470,815--Hazar; Sep. 11, 1984
Nothing is known at present about the success or failure of the subject matters of the foregoing patents relative to the Dental Profession but, as far it is known, none of them have met with any extensive success as far as being widely adapted by the dental profession as concerned.
More recently and especially since the development of, suitable light-curable dental material for the dental profession, has become quite widely used, Dentsply International of York, Pennsylvania has developed procedure and apparatus to completely produce dentures which employ such light-curable materials. These developments comprise the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,325 by Blair, et al entitled Method and Apparatus to Produce Artificial Dentures, issued Aug. 6, 1985. A second invention of said company comprises a companion of the invention forming the subject matter of the above-cited patent and is the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,098 in the name of Blair, issued Nov. 5, 1985, and during the pendency thereof, divisional application Ser. No. 735,597 was filed May 20, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,351, issued 09/02/86 and a combination divisional and CIP application of said U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,098 bearing Ser. No. 702,816 was filed Feb. 19, 1985.
The subject matter of said aforementioned inventions developed by Dentsply International Inc., primarily is based upon the use of a full arch form of artificial teeth which preferably are manufactured in a two-part mold as distinguished from a three-part or other form of mold. To accomplish this, compromises in the shapes of the teeth had to be made to render them adaptable for formation by two-part molds. It has been found that when this development was introduced to the dental profession recently, it did not meet with the success that had been hoped for, due particularly to the desire of at least certain members in the dental profession to include more life-like tooth shapes and arrangements in the completed dentures. This situation, coupled with the present availability of certain well-accepted dental materials capable of being matured by visible light, has resulted in the present invention being developed, details of which are set forth below.